Monday, January 17, 2011

The It's Not What You Read But Where You Read It Challenge 2011

I'm challenging myself to a reading challenge. Wanna join me? It's not what I read that matters, it's where I read it. Not only does it challenge me to read, it challenges me to plan and to focus while I'm in somewhat unfamiliar surroundings.

Here's how it works:

Join the challenge by posting that you're going to join (whether it be a link on your Facebook status, a blog post, or a photo of a memo taped to your office door - I don't really care as long as you can update us digitally somehow about your progress)

Choose on place from each category. It's up to you - you can do one of the suggested places, or you can pick one from your life that you think fits.

Read in that category for at least one hour. Ten minutes six times counts and sixty minutes one time counts, you get the picture.

Check off that category by updating your post (post it note?) and leaving a comment on this post with the link.

When you've finished all seven categories, come back to the second linky on this post and add in the link to your post showing everywhere you read. It's not necessary to snap a photo of yourself reading in one of the categories, but it could be fun and we'd love to see it!

Wait for March 30, June 30, September 30, and December 30 to see if you're the lucky finisher that was drawn for a prize.

What are the categories? Dude, you know I'll tell you.

Twist Your House
Read somewhere inside your house that you have never sat (or stood I suppose) and read before. It could be the bathroom (but I won't 'cause I think, ew gross), the bathtub, the corner, the closet, the guest bedroom, the dining room table - it just can't be somewhere that you've read before. Think outside the box.

Place of Commerce
Read somewhere that things are sold. Coffee shop? Sure. While you're waiting for your wife to try on clothes? Absolutely. At the fountain at the mall while you're scoping out guys? Uh, that's a stretch but give it a try.

Move
Read on the bus, on a train, on the light rail, on a plane, in a car, while you're walking, while you're on the treadmill at the gym. It doesn't have to be somewhere you haven't read before, just somewhere where you are moving through space.

Nature
This one could be hard for city folk, but there is a park somewhere, right? The requirement is that you are sitting/standing on something that isn't manmade. Man could have planted it, but not created it. Granite countertop? Um no. Granite boulder? Um yeah.

You Don't Call Home
Out of state? Sure. At your neighbor's house? Sure. Hotel? Yup. But it can't do double duty for any of the other categories.

Probably Shouldn't
Think work, church, grocery shopping. DO NOT READ WHILE DRIVING OR RIDING YOUR BIKE OR ROLLERBLADING/SKATING. BE SAFE. Be creative.

In Pairs
I don't care where you are as long as someone else in the room is reading their own book too. Before bed with the hubbie? Sure. In a hotel lobby? Absolutely. In a bookstore? Dude, you get the picture.

Seven hours of reading in a place that you probably wouldn't normally. That's the challenge. Think you can take that over the course of a year? If you think you can, add your name to the linky. And spread the word. The more people that finish the challenge by December 30th, the bigger the prize will be. There will also be quarterly prizes for those who have finished, so the earlier you finish, the bigger your chances of winning. And the first prize will be a $10 online bookstore gift card. Oh yeah, and we're open worldwide baby.Add Your Name And Post Link/Facebook Profile Link/Link To A Picture of Your Office Door Here To Join:

Here's the button code if you wanna add it to your blog:

Sign This Linky When You're Finished With The Link To Your Updated Post Telling Us About Where You've Read:

Gina at Hott Books has lured me in.....Can't wait to figure out my first not normal place. And just so you know...it doesn't matter how many times I look at that last one, the first thing I see is "In Paris." When I first looked at it, I wondered how I was going to justify a trip to France to my husband. "But I HAVE to dear, it's part of the challenge!" LOL